The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 22, 2000
Filed:
May. 08, 1997
Steven P Russell, Menlo Park, CA (US);
John H Hart, Saratoga, CA (US);
Jeffrey J Krause, Los Altos, CA (US);
3Com Corporation, Santa Clara, CA (US);
Abstract
The present invention provides a method and an apparatus for facilitating high bandwidth transmissions of data through a computer network. The invention uses communications through a routed network, such as the Internet, to establish a communication pathway through a connection-oriented network, such as an ATM or a frame relay network. This technique effectively exploits the universal addressing structure of routed networks, such as the Internet, to establish high bandwidth connections through connect-oriented networks. The present invention also facilitates selection of a connection-oriented network for data transmissions from a plurality of connection-oriented networks based upon parameters such as availability and costs. One embodiment of the present invention facilitates connections through mixed connection-oriented and routed networks, as well as through multicast networks. Another embodiment multiplexes several flows of data into a single connection through a connection-oriented network.